GDHQNHL15_2pg-Edmonton Oilers 1

NJ Devils Gameday HQ

EDMONTON
OILERS WESTERN CONFERENCE
Offense
One of the problems in Edmonton is that there’s almost no way
the offense can keep up with the rate of goals scored by opponents
against their porous defense. At the same time, the Oilers showed
a disappointing lack of progress offensively last season. Despite the
presence of talented young players like Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-
Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, and David Perron, the Oilers scored just 2.4 goals
per game, a mark that ranked just 24th best in the NHL.
The good news is that Hall has proven himself to be an all-star
caliber scorer and playmaker. Last season, Hall improved his playmaking
abilities, setting teammates up enough to earn 53 assists to go along with
his 27 goals. Hall is also still just 23 years old and further improvement is
not just possible but expected. The sky is the limit for Hall.
There are a few other players who chipped in with key offensive
contributions. Eberle and Perron tied for the team lead with 28 goals
apiece. Nugent-Hopkins scored 56 points but hasn’t nearly hit his full
potential himself. Veteran Ales Hemsky chipped in with 43 points and
Sam Gagner had 37.
Unfortunately for Edmonton, depth was already a problem last
year and is an even bigger problem now with the free agent departures
of Hemsky and Gagner. Hall, Nugent-Hopkins, and Eberle form a
dangerous top line, but most of the players behind them are unproven.
Nail Yakupov struggled in his second season, scoring just 24 points and
earning an ugly -33 rating. Teddy Purcell also joins the team but will no
longer have the benefit of playing on a line with Steven Stamkos.
Overall, Edmonton still has a lot of potential but also still has a long
way to go. The team has an alarming lack of productive veterans and
no shortage of unproven up-and-comers. Hall, Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins,
and Perron are nice players, but they’ll need help to give the Oilers a
respectable offense.
Defense
Perhaps no team in the NHL played worse team defense than the
Oilers last year. Justin Schultz remains a talented offensive defenseman
but a liability on the defensive end. Ladislav Smid was the best of a bad
group early but was traded to Calgary in November. Andrew Ference
brought the best defensive pedigree of any player on the team, but was
overmatched in the role of shut-down defender.
PACIFIC DIVISION
Taylor Hall
Key Additions:
Benoit Pouliot, Teddy Purcell,
Mark Fayne, Nikita Nikitin
Key Subtractions:
Sam Gagner, Ryan Smyth, Ryan
Jones, Mark Fraser
Strengths:
Top-line forwards
Weaknesses:
Defense, depth, puck possession
PHOTO/NHL/Getty Images